X-Factor versus Rage Against The Machine

[toddt]

For those of you across the pond who don't know, in the UK there's this strange annual frenzy for the Christmas Number 1 single - that is, the highest selling single of the week ending the last Sunday before Christmas.

For the last 4 years, it has been consistently won by the winner of the X-Factor (our version of American Idol) - the X-Factor schedule and winner's single is timed such that it all but guarantees this. But this year there's a movement against this defacto standard...

A facebook group was started with the aim of getting Rage Against the Machine's "Killing In the Name" to be this year's Christmas Number 1 - and currently the single is outselling the X-Factor winner (Joe McElderry, with a cover of The Climb) by a narrow margin.

So, anybody in the UK (or anywhere else...), if you would like to support this push and help guarantee the X-Factor's run of Xmas Number 1 singles ends this week, you can buy the Rage Against The Machine single from Amazon.co.uk for as little as 29 pence (RATM have said that a portion of the proceeds will go to Shelter - a UK homeless charity).

Merry Christmas everyone.

tt

[unit58studios]

As I understand it the minimum selling price for a track to qualify for a chart sale is 49pence.

If they are including sales at 29 pence then we might all as well pack up !!!

I'm starting a campaign in 2010 to get THE WORZELS to the Xmas NO 1 - at least they write and sing their own songs !!!

[toddt]

The results are in, and congratulations to Rage Against The Machine and all who campaigned this week to try to upset the X-Factor juggernaught, if only briefly.

Rage Against the Machine beat X-Factor winner in charts: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8423340.stm

Good luck to Joe McElderry too - I'm sure he has a great career in front of him.

[unit58studios]

This just makes a mockery of the whole Charts system.

So somebody throws their teddy out of the pram cos X Factor looks like their yet again gonna have the Xmas No 1.

And what happens - all the leemings buy another recycled track which has about as much to do with Xmas as Her Majesty has to do with writing

rap music.

O you idiots - so whats gonna happen in 2010 - another Facebook Campaign to get another recycled track to NO 1.

Well music is just going further backwards and downloads will be DOWN to 10cents a track.

What we need is some really great new pop music with people buying the music they like as opposed to making some kind of political statement.

Well dun the UK - another clanger you just dropped !!!!


P.S Lets move Xmas to a sunnier time of year instead of encouraging people to travel when its most dangerous !!!

[toddt]

Ok Señor Cranky, I think you appear to have missed the point somewhat...

This just makes a mockery of the whole Charts system.

If you say so, but some would say that the staging of a fifteen week television show followed by a single release timed precisely to capture the Christmas Number 1 slot has been doing that for years.

So somebody throws their teddy out of the pram cos X Factor looks like their yet again gonna have the Xmas No 1.

I think a few million did, and it was a great example of mass action IMO.

And what happens - all the leemings buy another recycled track...

The term "lemmings" is usually used to infer the mindless following of a crowd (like, maybe, buying the X-Factor winner's single year-on-year), whereas this appeared to be more a case of a very large group of people making a considered stand for something (albeit a relatively lighthearted something). When you consider that the song deftly chosen by the organisers is fiercely anti-system/anti-establishment, it makes perfect sense.

...which has about as much to do with Xmas as Her Majesty has to do with writing rap music.

Over the past 10 years, only one Christmas Number 1 has been even remotely about "Christmas" and it was none other than a re-doing of "Band Aid" (Do They Know It's Christmas) which was basically, wait for it, a... a...

...recycled track.

And prior to that you need to go back past Robby Williams, Michael Jackson, Westlife, Spice Girls, etc all the way back to 1990 for anything at all Christmas-y.

O you idiots - so whats gonna happen in 2010 - another Facebook Campaign to get another recycled track to NO 1.

Hopefully. The plan - or dream - of the "idiots" (who just defeated a multi-million pound effort by a coordinated group of media giants) as I understand it is to teach the X-Factor that they can't have the number one slot every year, and ultimately even get them to reschedule the program so that it is not cynically targeted that way - one suggestion has been to have the final on Christmas Day which would not only free up the Christmas Number 1 slot for the "traditional" annual chart battle, but be a television victory for Simon Cowell with the X-Factor dominating Christmas Day TV.

Well music is just going further backwards and downloads will be DOWN to 10cents a track.

Many people see this episode as progress actually. But I don't think it is at all responsible for the changing price point of music.

What we need is some really great new pop music with people buying the music they like as opposed to making some kind of political statement.

Because boycotts and political statements are far too meaningful, and have no business being in music?

Well dun the UK - another clanger you just dropped !!!!
P.S Lets move Xmas to a sunnier time of year instead of encouraging people to travel when its most dangerous !!!

If you want a sunny Christmas, it would probably just be easier if you moved to Australia, fella.

[unit58studios]

Whilst you make some eloquent points

) Both tracks are owned by SONY BMG - so they scored double points/royalties

) The track chosen by the 'anti establishment' wont get airplay cos the BBC have banned it - so that gives them the excuse to play NO 2 -

How clever was that .

Wot they should have done was chose a very xmassy track and got people to buy that.That would have been much cleverer as it would get lots of airplay
rubbing salt into the wounds even on Xmas day.

Simon wins again and again